Snape's Secret
by SlytherinLove30
Summary: Snape has a secret that he has been able keep for the last seventeen years but it might not stay that way for too much longer. Especially when that secret meets a certin Boy Who Lived.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters**

**Author's Note- This is my first attempt at writing a Harry Potter story. I haven't read the books in a while so if I got any details wrong, I apologize in advance. This story is slightly AUish. I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think.**

There were some things that were to be kept secret. So secret that absolutely nobody knew about it. Not Dumbledore. Not Voldemort. Severus Snape was the holder of that secret. This secret was the nearest and dearest thing to his heart. And yes, Severus did have a heart. It was even capable of love.

Snape's secret, if revealed, could not only ruin is reputation at Hogwarts but also could endanger the life of his dearest person. A mistake he made seventeen years ago that turned out to be one of the best things to happen to him.

His secret was his daughter: Grace Lillian Snape.

Although the girl was a wizard like both of her parents, Snape never allowed her to attend Hogwarts, despite the girl's pleas to. Instead, she was to attend a boarding school in London during the school year and Snape himself would teach her how to use and properly control her magic.

Grace led a good life. She was a very happy child and incredibly bright. She got high marks in school and had many friends. She was very different from her father yet the two got along quite well; only getting into fights occasionally, most of which involved her determination to go to Hogwarts. She had his pitch black hair but emerald green eyes that shown brightly in any light

The only thing that was missing from Grace's life was a mother. She knew absolutely nothing about her mother and never really showed much interest in the matter until she was a teenager. Of course she had been curious but it was always just a passing curiosity. Besides, she had her father and believed he was all that she needed.

Snape didn't want Grace to know about her mother even though he knew that there would come a day that she would find out. Despite the fact that he didn't want Grace to know of her, he did love her mother very much. In fact, besides their daughter, she was the only person that Severus could say he truly loved.

They had known each other since childhood and had been best friends. That was until they arrived at Hogwarts and he got increasingly more interested in dark magic. The final straw had come when, in their fifth year, he made the mistake of calling her a Mudblood, even if he did say it in the heat of the moment. That girl was Lily Evans.

Years later Lily had married James Potter, a man who Severus couldn't stand, and he had become a Death Eater. That is why it surprised him that in the early spring of 1979 when he saw Lily, who was now his enemy, again for the first time in years. They had talked for a while and then the real surprise came. They slept together.

Later that night, Snape was pulled out of the first good sleep by a kiss to the forehead. When he opened his eyes, he was looking up into Lily's beautiful green eyes, filled with sorrow and unshed tears. She kissed him once more and whispered: "I'm so sorry, Severus" and then disappeared.

Snape later found out that Lily had been tasked by the Order of the Phoenix to distract him so that they could recover information about Voldemort's future plans. She had used his love for her against him. It was the greatest pain he had ever felt.

Two months later, he had heard that Lily was with child. He knew that the child was his own from the beginning but he did make sure. She had told her husband in his friends that the child was James' even though Snape was sure that she knew that that was not the case. Even though he had never been particularly fond of children, the thought of Potter raising his child made him want to do something to prevent it.

That is why the day that Grace was born, Severus had secretively followed them to the muggle hospital so that he could put his plan into action. When the baby was born, Snape charmed her so that she appeared to be a still born.

As the Potter's were grieving for the loss of their daughter, Snape made his way from the hospital with the baby after lifting the charm.

Now, seventeen years later a lot had changed in the wizarding world but Severus and Grace's lives away from it all had stayed relatively the same as it had always been. That was all about to change though. Grace would be starting college soon and was quickly turning into an adult before her father's eyes.

Now as she became older, Grace began to ask more questions, all of a sudden feeling the need to know exactly who she was. Snape didn't blame her but at the same time knew that it was for her own good that she not know.

Along with the increasing need to know about her mother, Grace had also begun to become more obsessed with the world that her father lived in but he kept her from. Snape wouldn't be able to keep her from it much longer but her new fascination could not have come at a worse time. Now that Voldemort was definitely back and out for blood and he was working for both sides, Grace was in more danger than ever.

On top of everything else Grace's interest had been fixated upon one person in all this: Harry 'the boy who lived' Potter. Otherwise known as Grace's half-brother.

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters **

**Author's Note- Sorry for the wait but I was having a little trouble figuring out where I wanted to go with this story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Reviews are welcome, even if they're bad ones. I just really want you guys opinions and suggestions. **

Grace stood in silence as she watched what was going on in her father's study. Her limited exposure to the wizarding world made it difficult for her to understand what was going on exactly but she had a pretty good idea. Whatever it was, it was not good.

When the two women left, Grace showed herself and stepped in front of her father's desk where he had sat back down. "Who were they?" she asked.

"Friends." He said without looking up from what he was doing.

"And this Draco? Is he a friend too?" she asked.

Snape shifted in his seat. "My godson." He answered.

Grace laughed bitterly. "It figures." She said under her breath.

Snape put his work down and looked up at her. "What, pray tell, figures?" he asked, sensing she had a problem with something.

"That you have a godson that I didn't know about. From what I heard, he wasn't just born so I'm sure you didn't just forget to tell me about it." Grace said.

"No, he's just about a year younger than you." Snape told her and resumed looking through paper work.

"Of course he is." She said as she crossed the room and grabbed a book. The girls sat down in a chair and started to read.

"Is there something on your mind?" he asked, frustrated that he couldn't get any work done.

"No, nothing. I guess I just hate that you never tell me anything." She mumbled as she thumbed through her book.

"I tell you all the things that you need to know." Severus told her.

"No, you tell me things that you think that I need to know but could care less about. You think you're shading me from the forth coming war in the wizard world." She said standing up and making her way back over to Snape's desk.

"It has nothing to do with you." He told her.

"Yes it does!" she said raising her voice. "I am a wizard, I belong there. I hate the fact that you do not seem to get that."

Severus stood up and glared at her. "You would not be safe there. You say there is a war coming, yet you seem to forget how dangerous a war could be. I simply doing what is best for you." He told her for what seemed like the thousandth time. They had had this argument many times before.

"I'm seventeen! I'm of age! You cannot control me anymore!" she yelled at him.

"You are not of age in the muggle word yet." He reminded her.

"But I am not a muggle! You have horrible reasoning. Just because you sent me to a bloody muggle school for my entire life, doesn't mean that I am suddenly going to become one of them." She fought.

"I do not wish for you to be a muggle but I do wish for you to be safe and right now, the muggle world is a lot safer." He said quietly. It was a tone that he seldom used and only with Grace.

"I know that." She said, sighing. She knew that he only had her best interests at heart but sometimes the restrictions that he put on her life were more than she could take. "I do not have to like it though."

"No, you do not." He agreed. That didn't mean he'd relent though.

Grace walked to the door of the study. "I will go to school tomorrow. I will stay there for the remained of the year and graduate. After though, I cannot keep any promises that I will not get involved." She told him.

"Fine." Severus said, nodding.

Grace opened the door but looked back before stepping out. "One more thing, I do not know if you are working for Dumbledore or You-Know-Who and I do not care. Just know that when the time comes, I will not just get in line behind death eaters and take orders from that egotistical jackass." She told him.

Even though she didn't say it out loud but he could tell there was more to what she was saying. "You put too much trust into him, yet you do not even know him." He said.

"I do not have to know him. I just know that I can. I can feel it deep down inside of me." She said pointing to her heart.

Snape shook his head. "I do not know what to do with you sometimes."

Grace just smiled and walked out, closing the door behind her. When she was gone, Severus dropped down into his chair and leaned forward onto the desk. Running his hair through his long, raven hair, he let out a frustrated sigh. The coming months were going to be very difficult. All he wanted to do was take his daughter and run but he knew he couldn't. Too much depended on him at this stage.

He knew Grace would hate him for what he had to do. She wouldn't understand why he was to kill Dumbledore but he could not tell her either. She would try to stop him and he couldn't let that happen. It was essential that he do this, whether he wanted to or not.

All he hoped for now was that when Grace decided to join the fight, which he knew she would, that the Order wouldn't shun her because of her father's crimes. He suddenly realized what he had been doing to Harry all these years and guilt flooded him. No child should have to pay for their parents mistakes. Hopefully, Harry would be the bigger man and not treat the sister he did not even know he had awfully because of him. And as much he hated to admit it, he knew in the end, Harry would always be the bigger man.

**TBC….**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters**

**Author's Note- Sorry for the wait. Hope you guys like it. Reviews are, as always, welcome. I would love to hear you guys' opinion as to where this story should go. I always appreciate your input. **

Grace had only apparted a few times so it still made her quite nauseous. Once she had regained her bearings, she looked around at the unfamiliar place. When she fled her father's house, she had no specific destination in mind so she decided to let her magic bring her where ever she was most needed. She looked at the top of the street and saw a sign _Privet Drive; _she definitely did not remember ever being there.

The street was mostly empty, the only people being a family packing their possessions into a small car. There was a rather pale and frail looking woman, a tall, fat man, a shorter boy who was also rather over weight and another young man who stood closer to the front door, watching the others. The last boy looked rather familiar but from where she stood she could not make out the features of his face.

When the three others who were packing the car, finally drove away, she began to walk towards the last one remaining. He must have seen her coming because his head whipped around and he stared at her. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I do not know how I ended up here in the first place." She told him as she walked closer.

"I wonder the same thing myself sometimes." He said back, joking with the stranger as if she had been one of his friends.

Grace smiled, but was not sure what he meant. At that time, she was close enough to get a good look at him and recognized him immediately. "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Harry blushed, as if the mere mention of his name was praise he did not think he deserved. He was surprised that this girl seemed to know who he was. Only the wizarding world and few muggles would have been able to recognize him as The-Boy-Who-Lived. This girl was wearing muggle clothes and he did not remember ever seeing her at Hogwarts. "You know who I am?" he questioned back.

"I am pretty sure that every wizard and witch knows who you are." She said, smiling at him.

"So you are a witch then?" he asked.

"Yes I am." She answered.

"You did not go to Hogwarts though. I would have remembered you." Harry said.

Grace laughed. "No, unfortunately, I was never able to attend. I was educated in Muggle schools in London. My father seemed to think that it was a good idea for me to be kept separate from the wizarding world so he taught me himself." She explained. At the mention of her father, she realized just exactly who she was talking to and grew nervous.

"Ah, I see." Harry replied. He could definitely see where her parents were coming from with keeping her away; it was a very dangerous life as of late. "What's your name?" he asked, realizing she hadn't given it yet.

Grace rubbed her hands together nervously. "You being who you are, and things being as they are, you would not be very pleased to know who I am." She told him.

Harry tilted his head in confusion. Was she the child of a Death Eater, or maybe one herself? But that didn't make sense. If her parents or she was one of Voldemort's minions, she more than likely would not have been kept away from the wizarding world. "You can tell me, whoever you are, I will not judge." He assured her.

She took in a shaky breath. He might say that now but when he finds out the truth, he might not think the same. "My name is Grace. Grace Snape." She finally admitted.

Harry was shocked, _Snape. _He had to know for sure. "Any relation to Severus Snape?" he asked.

Grace nodded her head. "Yes, he is my father." She told him.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, he most definitely was not expecting that. He shook his head and cleared his head of his wandering thoughts. "I had no idea he had a daughter." was the only thing he could coherently come out of his mouth.

Grace laughed nervously. "Nobody did. Like I said, I was kept from his world." She told him.

Harry needed to ask, "Not even Voldemort?"

Grace answered quickly. "No, at least not that I am aware of. You most know that I did not know of the things my father had done for the man until just recently and I do not support any of them. In fact, I was hoping to join the fight against them." She explained.

Harry was once again in shock. This girl was willing to go against her own father in order to fight for the future of the wizarding world. It was a very bold and potentially dangerous move. He could not help though, the admiration he was feeling towards her. "I believe you." He told her.

"Then you will allow me to help, in any way possible?" she asked, needing assurance.

Harry smiled. "Yes. We could use all the help we can get at this point, especially if you have anywhere near the same skill level as your father." He told her. He reached out his hand.

Grace smiled and took his hand, shaking it. There was still a small voice in the back of her head telling her that her father was not an evil man but she knew that he was. The facts were all there. Severus Snape had killed Albus Dumbledore. Now all she wished was to not be set back by her father's wrong doings.

Harry was happy to have another person on his side but was still a bit worried. He wasn't sure how his friends would react towards their newest member. They had all known the truth about Snape for he had told him what had happened that night in the Astronomy Tower. He just hoped they could look past who her father was and not judge her for it. It was not her fault she got stuck with the greasy git for a father.

Although he had only known her for less than an hour, he had a feeling that it was okay to trust her and that she would be a great asset in the future. He would just have to convince the others of it. "Come along then. The others should be here any minute now." He said as he ushered her towards the house. She immediately followed behind him and he knew he had made the right choice.

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters**

**Author's Note- Two updates in two days, that very rarely happens. I hope you guys like it. Reviews would be appreciated.**

Grace crept behind Harry, with Ron and Hermione behind her, as they approached the Shrieking Shack. They could hear her father's voice as well as one belonging to who she assumed was Voldemort. She had seen Snape for the first time in a year earlier that night but they didn't speak. She just stood behind Harry as he called Severus out for killing Dumbledore in front of all the students and professors in the Great Hall. Their eyes had connected while he was trying to fend off McGonagall's attacks and he mouthed the word 'sorry' just before he disappeared.

While watching the events unfold, she fought the over whelming urge to protect him. At that moment she had not seen Dumbledore's killer but the man that had raised her. She couldn't help the anger towards the older woman, even though she knew her reasons were very justified. He was still her father.

Grace had been traveling with Harry, Ron and Hermione, trying to find Horcruxes, for the last few months. There was some tension between her and Harry's friends at the beginning, more so with Ron then Hermione, but as time went on they began to realize that Grace wasn't her father.

Even though they did begin to trust her, they still only talked about the situation with Hogwarts' newest headmaster when she wasn't around. It made her both angry and thankful. Angry because she hated feeling left out and thankful because in all reality, she didn't want to think about it. The other three sympathized with her but still felt awkward around her when it was brought up.

The three were surprised that their new found friend was nothing like their most hated professor. She was sweet and had an almost motherly quality to her. Ron even compared her to his own mother a few times. Her caring for them made the separation from their own parents easier for Ron and Hermione. Harry, while being exposed to the motherly type of loving with Molly Weasley, couldn't help but feel more cared for than he had ever been. There was something almost familiar about her, but he couldn't place it.

Grace was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of something hitting the wall they were standing behind. It didn't take long for her to realize exactly what had hit the wall. She drew in a shaky breath but waited with the others until Voldemort was gone and it was safe to go to Snape.

Grace jumped up and raced into the shack as fast as she could. She turned and saw her father, bleeding and struggling, lying on the floor. She fell to her knees and automatically put her hand over the gaping wound on his neck. Snape's hand went up and covered hers.

"Grace" he breathed out, looking up at her. "I'm so sorry."

Tears started to come to her eyes and she smiled at him, the feelings of hatred leaving her. "I forgive you."

By then, Harry had knelt down on the other side of the dying man. Snape noticed the boy and turned to him. "Take them." He said.

Harry knew what he meant and turned around to Hermione. "Give me something." He said. Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out a flask. Harry took it from her and got Snape's memory.

Snape's head moved back to his daughter and then back to Harry. "Look…at…me…" he said to the both of them. They positioned their faces in front of his. "You both have your mother's eyes." He said. They were confused by this and looked at each other. They never realized they had the same eyes before.

Snape coughed and their attention was brought back to him. He was fading fast but just before he took his last breath, and said: "Take care of each other, no matter what." He was gone.

Grace's head dropped down so that her face was buried in her father's chest, just like she had done so many times before when she was younger. Harry moved to the other side and grabbed the young girl in his arms. She hugged him back and cried into his shoulder.

They stayed like this for a few minutes until Harry grabbed her head and made it so that she was looking at him. Her read, puffy eyes looked into his. "Listen to me." He said to her. "I know this is hard. Believe me. But he wanted us to see something here so we have to go and look. Okay?"

Grace nodded her head. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."

An hour later, Harry and Grace stood in the Headmaster's office. Harry brought out the pensieve and made it bigger so that the both of them could look through the memories together. "Ready?" Harry asked.

"Ready." Grace confirmed.

Sorting through the memories was a new and odd experience for her but the weirdness of it all was forgotten about once she learned all that they were supposed to. It was a lot of information. _Lily Potter was my mother. Harry's my brother. He tried to save them. Harry has to die. Dumbledore asked Dad to kill him. He always loved her. Harry has to die… _

The last thought was what really stuck out in the group of them. Once they popped back up, she immediately went to him. She was nervous at first but got right into the role of the older sibling. "Harry…"

"I know." He said quietly.

"I'll be here. With you. No matter what." She told him.

Harry had every intention on telling her that he didn't need her but he couldn't fight her. He, for once, gave into the need to be comforted by someone. So, he just walked towards her and let her wrap her arms around him. The both of them sat there and cried.

They cried for themselves, for those who had died fighting this battle, those who died for the cause even before the battle itself broke out but most of all they cried for the unfairness of it all. Neither of them had ever had much family and now that they had found each other, they were being torn apart. Grace didn't want to lose the only thing that she had left.

She wanted to talk him out of going through with it but she knew he'd never listen. Not if it meant Voldemort would still live and that his friend's lives were still in danger. The only thing that she could do now was comfort him and make sure that she would be with him until the very end. Then she'd kill the bastard herself.

**TBC…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note- Sorry that it took so long to update. I had some trouble writing this scene, especially Voldemort. When I first came up with the idea for this story, this was the scene that I thought up. It has been floating around my brain for the last two months. Once I finally got to this chapter, I wanted to make sure it was exactly how I wanted it to be. I realize now that when you write down something that you thought was a really good idea in your head, it doesn't always make sense. Lesson learned I guess. I hope you guys like it. Please review, I really want to know what you think.**

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Harry!"

"No, Grace!"

"I'm not letting you go out there alone!" Grace yelled, frustrated at her younger brother. They had been having the same argument for ten minutes. Grace was determined to go with Harry to the Forbidden Forest, while Harry urged her to stay behind in the protection of the castle with Ron and Hermione.

"I won't let you get yourself killed. Enough people have died as it is and I don't want your name added to the list." He reasoned. A huge part of Harry did want his sister to go with him- he was very afraid of doing it alone- but he knew it was very dangerous. Unlike his friends though, it took a whole lot more effort to get her to stand down. She was very stubborn.

Grace saw the confliction in his eyes. Fine, if he didn't want her there, she wouldn't go with him. She'd just give him a head start and then use her secret weapon to follow him. She pretended to relent and hugged him.

Harry's arms automatically wrapped around her in return and squeezed as hard as he could. "Please be safe." He whispered in her ear.

"I'll try." She answered.

"Try hard." He said even more quietly then before and then he was gone. She gave him a few minutes head start before starting out after him.

HPHPHP

"You'll stay with me?" Harry asked, looking at the four ghosts surrounding him.

"Until the very end," said James.

"They won't be able to see you?" asked Harry.

"We are part of you," said Sirius. "Invisible to anyone else."

Harry looked at his mother. "Stay close to me," he said quietly.

Harry began to walk to where he knew Voldemort would be waiting for him, only to be stopped by a grey and white huskie which trotted up to him and rubbed against his legs. Harry looked down confused as he had never seen the dog before and it had no business in the forest itself. He then looked up at his family in curiosity, hoping they could explain what was going on. James, Sirius and Remus all shook their heads but Lily walked closer to her son and the dog and bent down. The huskie stepped closer to the ghostly woman and gave a strangled bark. Lily smiled and looked back up at her son, "You should have known she would never stay away."

Before Harry was able to ask her what she was talking about, Lily spoke again but this time to the huskie. "It's okay, sweetheart, you can come out now."

As Lily said this, the huskie transformed into a human girl. Not just any human girl, it was Grace. "How…you…I…you're an animagus?" He asked after stumbling over his words in surprise.

"Yeah, how else do you think I did so good hunting this past year?" she asked almost jokingly and with a tint of nervousness.

"How come you didn't tell me?" he asked.

Grace shrugged. "Don't know. Never told anyone really." She explained to him.

Harry shook his head. "I told you not to come." He said.

"You didn't really expect me to listen to you, did you?" she asked.

Harry thought for a moment. He would be lying to himself if he were to say he didn't think she would come at all. It was more hope that she wouldn't come. "Fine, but you have to stay back and you can't let anybody see you." He warned.

"Okay." She said, taking a deep breath.

Harry wouldn't say it out loud but he was glad she was with him. He grabbed her by the hand and began to walk deeper into the forest, Lily and the three Marauders following close behind them. After a few minutes, the group heard voices with one louder than all the others. Grace shivered at the sound of it, flashes of snake bites, blood, and her dead father ran through her mind. Without even thinking, she hugged Harry as tight as she could.

"Please, don't go." She whispered, tears running down her cheeks again.

"I have to, I'm sorry." Harry whispered back, and let her go.

It took everything she had not to follow him. She dropped to the forest floor and silently wept for her impending loss. Her eyes were closed tightly but she could feel a presence next to her. She looked up and connected with her mothers. Lily reached out and glided her hand across her daughter's cheek. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this, Grace." She whispered.

Grace whimpered. "It's not fair. And I know, life isn't fair. Dad always told me that, but I can't help but think that this is a little much."

"I know, sweetheart. You are so strong, so brave. You and Harry both." She comforted. "I wish I could have been there for you."

"Me too, but I understand." Grace told her.

"I want you to know that I have always loved you." Lily said.

"But you thought I was dead." Grace said, confused.

"First of all, you are my daughter and I could never stop loving you if you were alive or dead. Secondly, I knew you were alive." Lily told her. "A year after you were born, I was already pregnant with Harry, and we already knew that Voldemort was after us. My sister was selling our parents' house so I went to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. When I was leaving, I decided that I would take a walk through the town. I got to the park where I used to play almost every day when I was younger and saw your dad and you having a picnic under the same tree we always sat under. I knew who you were immediately. I wanted to go over there to you, I wanted to yell at Severus for taking my daughter from me but one thing held me back. As much as I hated to admit it, I knew you would be safer with him than with us." Lily explained.

"We always had picnics there." Was the only thing that Grace could think of to say to her mother's confession. It made her happy to know that her mother knew that she actually existed, and loved her. It also made her angry that once again, she was kept from something just to keep her 'safe'. Now she was only a hundred feet from the most dangerous wizard ever known and his army, while her brother sacrificed himself to save their world. So much for safe.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The scream and bright green light broke the silence of the forest. The words hung in the air and it took a few seconds for it all to sink in. Grace looked around, all the ghostly figures were gone. She was alone. She rose to her feet and crept closer to the opening that her brother had disappeared into moments before.

There, she saw a sight that would be burned into her mind for the rest of her life, much like the one of her dying father. It was Harry, lying motionless on his side and Voldemort was standing a few feet away from him with a spooky grin plastered on his face.

The man-if you could actually call him that- was going on about something but Grace couldn't hear him. At that moment, anger shot through her. She knew she promised that she wouldn't go any were near the ego maniac and his troop of psychopaths but she couldn't see past the immense anger that she was feeling.

Just as a woman who she had remembered from two summers before, one of the last times she had seen her father alive without any hatred between them, walked closer to Harry's still body, Grace rushed out from her hiding spot and stood guard over her brother.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Voldemort said when he saw the newest member of his little party. He didn't give the girl time to answer though. "I have never seen you before, yet you are familiar." He turned around. "Do any of you know this girl?"

Bellatrix stepped forward. "Yes, my lord. She was with Potter, the mudblood, and the blood traitor when we caught them in the forest." She told him, proud at herself for being the one to provide the answer. "She told us her name was Lillian Prince."

Voldemort quickly turned back to the girl. "Prince? That is a pure blood family."

Some of the Death Eaters growled at the thought of yet another pure blood trader, while Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy looked confused. Voldemort began speaking again. "The only thing is, that family was washed out when the last remaining pure blood descendant married a filthy muggle." Voldemort smirked as he grew closer to Grace. Grace gulped. She knew it probably wasn't the best idea to use her grandmother's maiden name but it was the first thing that came to her mind.

"You do not fool me, girl." Voldemort continued speaking. "You are no Prince."

"I may not fool you, but it seems as though my father did a pretty good job of it." Grace said finally finding her voice.

Voldemort turned to face the others once again. He laughed and they did too. "And how did your father, whoever he is, fool me? Nobody fools me."

"My father was one of your Death Eaters, yet you had no idea he had a child at all." Grace informed him. Her anger fueled her courage. Voldemort whipped around yet again-something he obviously did a lot of- and his face made a motion that if he had eye brows, they would have been half way up his four head.

The subject was changed. "If you are in fact the daughter of a Death Eater, then why don't you join us?" He asked.

Grace fought not to actually laugh. "Join you? You mean after you murdered my mother, father, and now my brother? I think not."

"Brother?" Voldemort said, obviously caught off guard. His eyes darted back and forth between Grace and Harry.

"Yes that's right. Harry Potter is my half-brother." Grace stated proudly.

"Your father was one of my Death Eaters and your brother is The-Boy-Who-Lived?" he asked skeptically but then it clicked. "Severus." Grace nodded. "He and the foolish Mudblood? No wonder he pleaded for her life."

Grace grew angry. "Do not say a word against my mother."

"That is what she was though, just a foolish Mudblood." He said.

A hex flew out of Grace's wand but it was easily deflected by the snake like man. "I see you're just as foolish as your mother. We will change that." With that being said, he pointed his wand at the girl and yelled: "CRUCIO!"

Grace's body was hit with an amount of pain that she had never known. She jerked around as the curse kept hitting her over and over again, unrelenting. Her legs gave out and she fell with a loud thud to the forest floor. The Death Eaters looked on with mixed reactions. Bellatrix had a gleam of delight in her eyes, Lucius tried to hold back his disgust and Narcissa just closed her eyes and tried to block out the girl's screams.

Grace's body had enough after only five minutes and she passed out from the pain. Just as her eyes closed, she could have sworn she saw Harry's body move.

**TBC…..**

HaHHHarry


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note- Here's the next chapter! I have two things to say first though. For the most part, I will be sticking to canon relationships. There is only one pairing that I will be breaking up. It'll become pretty clear in this chapter which one it is. I hope you guys don't mind. The second thing is, I'm planning on extending this story for a pretty long time and was wondering if you guys think I should write everything in one story or write a sequel. Let me know what you guys think!**

"Grace, please wake up." Was the first thing the eighteen year old girl heard as she began to wake up. The darkness began to fade and she groaned in pain. Her entire body ached like she had never ached before. Suddenly, the events of how this happened to her came back to her and she sat up as fast as she could.

"Wow there." The voice came again as hands pressed against Grace's shoulders, pushing her back down again.

She looked up again and immediately recognized the round, wire rimmed glasses and the lightning bolt scar. "Ha-Harry." She stuttered.

"Welcome back." He said, smiling down at her.

"Mm dead?" she asked, mumbling.

"No, no. You're fine. I promise you." He assured her.

Grace became more coherent, she shook her head and tears silently started to roll down her cheeks. "But I saw- I saw you..." It became too much to think about and her body began to shake with grief.

Harry took his sister into his arms. "I'm fine. We're both fine."

"What…what about…" she tried to ask but was still breathing too harshly to form the words.

"He's gone."

"You got him?"

"Yeah, I got him."

Grace cried harder but this time with joy. It was over. Finally over. Now she was able to live her life freely in the wizarding world like she had always dreamed of. It all seemed surreal. She didn't know how Harry had done it but there would be time for explanations later, right now all she wanted to do was bask in it.

Her head began to bob so Harry gently laid her back down on the mat she had been placed on earlier by him and George Weasley in the Great Hall. "Go back to sleep. You need the rest."

"Okay." She mumbled as she began to fall back to sleep.

"Ron and Hermione were looking for you." A voice came from behind him. Harry turned around to see George still standing behind him. Harry looked at him and then back at his sister with confliction.

George caught this and said: "Go. I'll watch her."

"Are you sure?" Harry was uncertain. He didn't want to leave her. He trusted George but he also knew that he was still dealing with his own grief over Fred.

"I'm sure." George assured him with a weak smile. If he was honest with himself and Harry, he just really wanted to sit here, in the quiet. Right now, he wanted to be by himself, away from his family. He knew they were taking Fred's death hard but nobody, not even his mother could know how he was feeling right now.

He sighed as he sat down. He didn't know Grace that well but she seemed nice enough. What he was really curious as to why Harry seemed so attached to her. He knew that the younger man had always been a good friend to all of them but there was something different about this. It was almost like he felt the urgent need to protect her. Why would Harry feel the need to protect Snape's daughter of all people? He just didn't get it.

**HPHPHP**

It was another day before Grace was able to get up on her own, Poppy having given the girl the all clear. Now she was sitting by herself outside, looking back at the castle. She heaved a big sigh as she studied the structural damage.

Ever since she could remember, she wished to come to Hogwarts. She had seen pictures and heard stories but nothing could replace the need to actually come here and experience it herself. Now that she was finally here though, it was in ruins. Ah the irony.

"Ms. Snape." Came a voice from behind her suddenly. She spun around and got to her feet quickly.

"Professor McGonagall." She greeted the older woman.

McGonagall smiled at her. "How are you, dear? Recovering I hope."

"Yes, thank you." Grace said touched by the woman's concern but she felt a bit awkward around the woman. She still felt a little anger towards her because of the way she attacked her father.

Minerva sensed the girl's hesitance but couldn't say she blamed her. "Mr. Potter has informed about everything that your father left behind in his memories. I do have to say, I did not see any of this coming."

Grace laughed nervously. "Neither did I, I assure you."

"I also wanted to inform you that we have retrieved Severus' body. We placed him in his quarters in the dungeons until you have found arrangement for him."

"Thank you." Grace said genuinely but she sighed. "I have no idea what I'm going to do. I have to take care of that, the house in Spinner's End, all of his stuff, and then I also have to get Abby home."

"Abby?" McGonagall questioned.

"Abigail Harris. She's a muggleborn, fourth year, Hufflepuff. Her older sister is my best friend and I promised her before I left to find the Horcrux's with Harry, Ron and Hermione that I would protect her and get her home." Grace explained.

"That is very honorable of you, Grace." Minerva told her with a small smile. "Both of your parents would be very proud of you."

Grace smiled back. "Thank you, Professor."

**HPHPHP**

"Ready to go, Kiddo?" Grace said to the teenage girl in front of her.

Abby nodded, happy to finally be going home. She was a tall girl for her age, standing just a few inches shorter than the older girl. She had long blond hair and crystal blue eyes. Her and her sister, Alexis looked almost like twins.

"Okay, let's go." The two girls began to walk towards the boundaries of Hogwarts. Just as they almost got there, somebody yelled for them.

"Grace! Wait!" came the voice, which as it turned out, belonged to George Weasley.

"George? What's wrong?" she asked as the older man caught up with them.

"I was-ah-just wondering if you needed any help?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"You want to help me bring Abby home? It's not that big of a job." She said.

George rang his hands uncomfortably. "I just thought…I guess…I…" he stammered.

Grace looked at him curiously and then realized what was wrong. "You can't avoid them forever you know."

George looked shocked for a second but then sighed in defeat. "I know, I just thought I could maybe put it off a little longer." He admitted.

Grace smiled. "Fine you can come, but we are going to the Burrow right after, okay?"

George smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

**TBC…..**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note- Sorry for the delay, things have been very crazy lately. This is the second to last chapter of this story. It will have a sequel. It was pointed out to me in a review that I had gotten Grace's age messed up. I had said she was eighteen when she is in fact nineteen. Hope there is still somebody still reading this story. If there is, I hope you review! Thanks.**

Grace, George and Abby walked down the street they had just apparated onto. Abby seemed to be very excited to get home, as she ran ahead of the older two. Grace couldn't blame her really. After the battle and not to mention the entire school year, she would be rushing home if she were Abby too.

Before they reached the blue house in the middle of the street that Grace had spent so much time at, a girl who was just a taller Abby came running and wrapped her arms around the younger girl. "Oh Abby, I'm so glad you're home!" the girl said.

"Glad to be home." Abby whispered into her sister's embrace.

All of a sudden two more people joined the group. Grace smiled as Abby let go of her sister and ran to her parents. Suddenly, Grace was plowed into a hug. "Grace Lillian Snape! If you ever go off the grid like that ever again, I will kill you!" Alexis said before saying: "I'm so glad your back."

Grace crushed the other girl to her. "I missed you so much." She cried. She and Alexis had been friends since their first year in boarding school. She had also been the only one of her friends that she had told about her magic. They were closer than sisters.

George felt awkward watching the reunion. They looked like a very happy family. He felt a pang in his chest suddenly. The Weasley's had always been a close family, sure there were a lot of them and not much money, but they had enough love to survive anything life threw at them.

Or at least so he thought.

In the past few days, his family had pulled together like he thought they would. Fred's death had hit them all hard but they had each other to get through it. He was another thing all together. He had refused to take comfort in his siblings or parents; he had even gone so far as to deny a hug from his mother.

And nobody denied Molly Weasley a hug.

Grace peered back at her companion and saw the conflicted emotions written all over his face. She was very worried about him. True she had not known George for that long, but she could see pain when she saw it. She felt as though she needed to do something about it.

Later that evening as George and Grace walked away from Abby and Alexis' house, Grace stopped and turned in front of him. "Do you mind if we take a little detour?"

George looked confused. "What happened to going right home?" he asked.

"We will go; I just want to show you something." Grace explained. "It's okay if you do not want to go, I just…well… it's my favorite place to go and I thought you'd like somewhere peaceful to, you know, think."

George looked at her for a few seconds and saw the genuine concern and need to help him. He smiled gratefully. "Lead the way."

Grace smiled back, grabbed his arm and quickly diasapparated. The landed in a green field, nestled between a lake and a huge oak tree. George looked around and took in his environment. Grace was right, it was extremely peaceful. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as a cool night breeze hit his face.

"I spent a lot of time here when I was younger. Sometimes I would come running here if I had got into a fight with my dad. Of course it wasn't the best idea cause he always knew that I'd come here." Grace told him, with a small sad smile on her face.

George watched her carefully as she walked closer to the tree and stroked her thumb over what seemed to be a carved out are in the bark, George walked closer and looked at where her hand was. The inscription read:

_S.S_

_L.E_

_BFF_

"You're mom and dad, I assume?" he asked.

"Yeah, this is where they met." Grace told him. Without looking back, she walked a little forward and dropped herself in the grass with what George could only guess was practiced ease.

George smiled at her and walked over to sit next to her. "This is a nice place you got here."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a while and stared out to the lake. It was a very relaxing sight. Grace had spent many a summer night sitting in the exact spot just observing her environment. Those nights usually ended the same way; her father coming out after finishing whatever potion he had been working on and sitting next to her in silence until it got very late and chilly when they would walk home again. It was one of her favorite times with him.

Just thinking about it made Grace's eyes well up and silent tears ran down her face. After a while, George noticed and pulled her in to a hug. He didn't know why, but it felt right.

Grace had the same feeling so she buried her head in his chest and let the tears fall harder. George hugged her tighter and tried to hold back his own tears, but it didn't work. Soon he too was crying out the tears that he had yet to let go of since Fred had died.

They sat like that for what seemed like hours. When the tears finally stopped, Grace sat up and rubbed her eyes furiously. "I'm sorry, I just…" she trailed off.

"Don't worry about it. I think we both deserve it after the last year." He said.

Grace only nodded. "I know I don't get what you're going through right now, but I'll be around if you need to talk. No matter where I am or what time." She told him.

"Thanks, and same here." Said George. "It's hard to talk about though and I don't think my family gets it. I mean, you should have seen the look on my mum's face when I walked away from them earlier, it was awful."

"Things will get better, it will take time, but it will get better." She assured him.

"I hope you're right." He said as he looked up into the sky. "What do you think they're doing up there, you know assuming there is an up there?"

Grace took a second to ponder the question. When she came up with her answer, a small grin appeared on her lips and she looked at him. "I believe Fred has become the fourth Marauder and they are driving my father crazy."

George laughed. "That is a highly plausible outcome, yes."

That night was the first time since Fred's death that George had actually talked about him. It was a small step in the road to recovery but it was a step none the less. He liked Grace's idea of what Fred was doing in the afterlife. Bothering Snape was of course, one of their favorite pass times.

Thinking of his former potion's professor, he looked at the girl sitting next to him. When they had first met, the night he had pretty much got his ear torn off, he was surprised to find that the sweet, charming girl was the daughter of the greasy git of the dungeons. They were nothing alike.

Now, after having heard Harry tell the entire story, George didn't have any trouble seeing how they could be father and daughter. Both were incredibly strong willed, brave and stubborn. He wondered how she was going to coup with the loss in the weeks and months to come.

Obviously, she had Harry as family now but for her entire life, it had been just her and her dad. It had always been just them. In that way, her loss and his were very similar. It was a good thing that they had each other.

**TBC…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

The funeral of Severus Snape was a very small affair. Grace, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and George gathered in the park near Spinner's End were they had just finished burying his body. Now, Harry transfigured a grave stone, similar to the one his parent's shared in Godrick's Hollow. Grace then stepped closer and inscribed it.

_Severus Snape_

_January 9, 1960-May 2, 1998_

_Beloved Father and Friend._

She then stepped back to look at the simple stone. It was befitting she thought, the simplicity of it. Harry Stepped next to her, "May, I?" he whispered nodding to the stone. Grace nodded her permission. Harry then raised his wand and added his own inscriptions. Two things that signified the Potion Master's life.

_No One Knows What Truly Lies In the Heart but the Owner Himself_

_Bravery, Loyalty and Trust_

_It is Better to Loved and Lost then to Never Love at All. _

The six stood there for a moment in complete silence just staring at the grave marker. Grace's eyes started to well up, she tried to hold them back but it was harder than it usually was. Both Harry and George noticed this and each of them took one of her hands. The other's noticing this, Ginny took Harry's other hand, Ron took her's and Hermione took his.

Suddenly, they could hear footsteps grow louder behind them. They all turned around and saw a group of people walking towards them. The group included Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, McGonagall, Slughorn, Flitwick, Kingsly, and a very reluctant looking Aberforth Dumbledore.

No words were spoken as the group held a vigil at the grave sight of a man that up until a few days ago, they believed was a trader and a murderer. Well most of them anyways. After about a half an hour, Grace once again raised her wand and cast a strong glammer so that the muggle's in the area wouldn't be able to see it.

Harry and Grace lead the way to a grassy area and sat down, the rest of the group soon to follow. Minerva conjured up a picnic for them and soon everybody began eating and talking about the man that had been an enigma to all of them.

The group had been laughing at George's retelling of a prank he and his twin had pulled on their Potion Master in their first year, when the younger Dumbledore brother spoke up for the first time since he had arrived. "I knew."

Everyone stared at him waiting for him to continue. It took a few seconds, but he did. "Albus told me about the curse in his hand and how it was slowly killing him. He also told me about his plan to have Severus kill him."

They were all in shock. Harry was the first to recover. "What?! Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked furiously.

Aberforth took a deep breath. "After Albus told me, I approached Severus and attempted to persuade him to change his mind. Quite like I tried to stop you four from entering the castle the night of the battle." He said looking at Harry, Ron, Hermione and Grace. "Of course he would have none of it. He told me that he knew what he was doing. He and you are a lot a like Mr. Potter, whether you want to see it or not."

They all sat in quiet contemplation for a while before they all packed up the stuff and they all went their separate ways, most back to the Burrow. Grace, Harry and Hermione had all been staying at the Burrow. Harry had tried to go to Grimmauld Place and Grace to the house in Spinner's End but Molly had insisted. They were not about to argue.

Before they left, Grace told Harry that she had to grab something at her house and that she would follow behind them. Harry looked her over for a second, worrying about his sister but then nodded and diasapparated.

Grace waited and watched everybody leave before turning around and making her way towards her childhood home. As she approached the row of bushes close to where they had been sitting, she spied a mop of blond hair in the thicket.

She quickly pulled out her wand. "Show yourself."

Slowly, the figure stood up with their hands above his head. "I just came to pay my respects. I can go if you want me to." He said.

Grace knew who he was immediately. "Draco, right?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah. I'll just go." He began to turn around.

Grace grabbed his arm and stopped him from leaving. "Don't. You were really important to him."

Draco shook his head. "I don't know about that. I cost him so much."

"And so did I and so did Harry. Believe me though; he wouldn't have done any of the things he did if he didn't care about you." Grace assured him.

Draco let a small sad smile play on his face. "Thanks Grace. And for what it's worth, I am sorry. I feel like it's my fault that he died." He confessed to her.

Now it was Grace's turn to shake her head. "No it's not Draco. Like I said, there would have been no talking him out of it. Whether he still believed that the wand belonged to you or he somehow knew it was Harry's, he would have gladly taken Voldemort's wrath, before he let either of you face it."

Draco nodded again and began walking towards where Snape's grave was. He was halfway there when Grace called after him again. He turned back and looked at her, "If you need anything, I'm just an owl or floo away."

Draco smiled. "Thanks Grace, really."

Grace only nodded before she continued on her way. Everybody, from both sides, had a lot of healing to do. Soon life would have to go on. The shops in Hogsmead and Diagon Alley had to reopen and there were a lot of repairs that had to be made at Hogwarts.

For now though, everybody deserved a break. That gave her an idea. They all deserved time away from everything, especially Harry. The entirety of Wizarding Britain wanted a piece of their savior, more so now than ever.

She would have to run it by everyone but she thought it was time for a little vacation.

**The End.**


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